


Just Another Saturday Night

by MayRaven1798



Category: My So-Called Life
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:08:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 20,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayRaven1798/pseuds/MayRaven1798
Summary: Our favourite gang of teens out for a little mischief. This story stands on it’s own and is all in good fun.Update Feb 18: I did some editing. Man, so many errors!
Relationships: Delia Fisher/Tino(My So-Called Life), Enrique “Rickie” Vasquez/Corey (My So-Called Life), Jordan Catalano/Angela Chase, Sharon Cherski/Rayanne Graff
Comments: 26
Kudos: 4





	1. The Plan

1-The Plan (or lack there of)

“I am so done with Kyle! I, like, totally mean it this time!” Sharon said adamantly in the direction of the occupied stall in the girl’s room.

“Blah, blah, blah...I’ll believe it when I see it, Cherski,” said the painted Keds that could be seen under the stall door.

“No, I mean I’m completely done with him. He’s so...needy!”

The toilet flushed and Rayanne came out of the stall. She shook her head as she made her way to the sink to wash her hands. 

“You know what? I don’t care if it’s forever. What really matters is that you’re free this weekend,” Rayanne declared with a mischievous grin at her friend’s reflection in the wall mounted mirror.

“Oh? What’s happening this weekend?” Sharon asked hesitantly, knowing that it was probably something scandalous.

“Heck if I know,” Rayanne shot back as she turned to face her friend. “But for sure it’ll be a time!”

“Actually I could use some fun,” the cheerleader said with fewer nerves.

The two girls exited the bathroom and started down the hallway of Liberty High’s third floor. They met up with Rickie and Delia half way to the end.

“Great so we should meet downtown, or something and hit a club,” Rayanne suggested with enthusiasm.

“We? Who all is ‘we’?” Rickie asked.

“Me and Sharon, here. And you...right Rickie?” she begged him with an exaggerated pout.

“Can Delia come?” Rickie asked brightly.

“Oh no I don’t need to come,” said Delia as she backed away.

“You sure? I mean it could be fun,” Sharon suggested with a smile.

“Maybe...” Delia said not wanting to disappoint her friends.

“Good then you’re coming! The more the merrier,” Rayanne buzzed.

The four friends headed down the stairwell and ran into Brian. He was watching his feet instead of where he was going. The boy bumped into Rayanne and she shoved back.

“Watch it nerd!” she shouted at him.

“Why don’t you watch it? This is, like, community property,” Brian shot back.

“Your face is community property,” she laughed.

“Th-That doesn’t even make sense,” he told her with a look of confusion.

“Hey Brian, do you want to go out and have some actual fun this weekend?” Sharon called after him.

“No, don’t invite him! Krakow is anti-fun,” whined Rayanne at her friend.

“She’s right...I’m devoid of the ability to enjoy myself,” Brian said in the most monotone, depressing way possible.

“Holy shit, who killed your puppy?” Rayanne asked with genuine concern. “I mean, how am I supposed to crack wise at your expense if you’re just a pathetic sad thing?”

“He’s just sad because Angela got back together with Jordan,” Rickie told them. He thought it best to keep the authorship of the letter that won her over to himself.

“Yeah, I think we all are,” Sharon sympathized.

“What does she even see in that guy? Isn’t she tired of his broody lack of ambition yet?” asked Delia as though she was suddenly an expert on the subject.

“Oh hey, Delia,” Brian said with a pathetic wave—which he cut short when Rickie gave him a nasty look.

“You’re growing on me Delia,” said Rayanne as she threw an arm around the girl’s shoulders.

“What are you guys doing...this weekend, I mean?” Brian asked still unclear if he was actually invited.

“We’re going to go to a club, or something,” Sharon told him.

“Yeah, and you should, like, come because you need to not wallow,” Rickie added, hoping that Brian would join them, so he wasn’t going to be the only voice of reason amongst a group of party girls.

“Count me in,” Brian found himself saying.

“On one condition...no nerd-like behaviour,” Rayanne instructed. “And for Pete’s sake wear some fucking jeans. If you show up in khakis or chords I will pants you!”

The boy’s face went very pale. He knew she was serious. Delia laughed loudly at his expression.

“I hope you forget, Brian. I would love to see that,” Delia said whimsically, which only confused him further. Either she still really hated him, or secretly wanted to see him with his pants down. Either prospect made him very uncomfortable.

....

At the end of the day, Angela caught up with Sharon at her locker. She had overheard Rayanne talking to Rickie about their weekend festivities.

“So, I heard a bunch of you are planning something for this weekend?” Angela asked coyly as she tucked her red hair behind her ear.

“Oh, yeah, but...” Sharon started to say and then stopped awkwardly without finishing.

“But what, Cherski? Is it ‘cause Rayanne is going that you don’t want me to go?” she asked with a measure of hurt in her tone.

“I want you to go, but you probably shouldn’t go,” her friend told her with a frown.

“Because of Rayanne,” Angela stated more than asked.

“Exactly. I mean, I know what it’s like to lose your mind over a boy and forget your friends, but is he really worth it?” she asked with concern.

“No one would be questioning my decision if they would just get to know him,” Angela said defensively. 

“But isn’t that, like, your first and biggest problem? Jordan doesn’t want to hang with us. He doesn’t want to be with your friends, or you with his friends. It’s weird Chase-face.”

“He just doesn’t want the distraction,” she shot back.

“Whatever...look we’re going to meet outside the old theatre that closed downtown last summer at around 8:30pm on Saturday...you know, if you decide to come,” Sharon told her slowly, not wanting to disappoint her oldest friend.

“Sure, thanks,” Angela said with a touch of sadness.


	2. The Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underaged drinking.

2-The Club

Saturday night Rayanne was sure to pack her boho shoulder bag with extra supplies. There were several bottles made up of the little samples that she skimmed off the top of everything in her mother’s liquor cabinet. She shoved a plaid shirt in between them to keep them from knocking into one another and making noise.

She was taking a swig from her silver flask when Rickie and Delia showed up outside the old theatre.

“I see you got the party started without us...or anyone,” Rickie observed.

“Oh don’t be such a downer, Vasquez,” she teased. He still didn’t look impressed.

“So, no one else is here yet?” Delia asked a little worried that they came too early.

“Hey guys!” called Sharon as she came up the sidewalk towards them. Rayanne waved with pizzaz until she saw Brian was shuffling along behind her.

“And then there were five,” Rayanne commented and then took another swig.

“That’s something you would say if you were counting down,” Brian corrected her misquote.

“Don’t make me pants you, weirdo,” she snarked back.

“I’m wearing jeans. We had an agreement,” he told her very quickly as he took a large step back.

“Yeah, but that sounded like nerd speak to me,” Rayanne informed him, taking a step forward for dramatic effect.

Sharon laughed and took the flask from Rayanne. She took a sip and made a face of disgust. Then she recovered and took a bigger drink.

“And here I thought she was taking it away,” Rickie lamented with a sigh.

“Brian?” Sharon asked offering it to him.

“You want me to drink from that? At least two people just had their mouths on that flask,” he whined.

“It’s alcohol...it, like, kills the germs, or whatever,” Rayanne laughed.

“I’ll have some,” said Delia as she reached over and did the exact same routine as Sharon just had.

“Here, we wouldn’t want your OCD to kill you. You can have your very own bottle,” Rayanne said as she handed him one of the small, travel-sized bottles from her purse.

“Seriously? How many of those do you have in there?” Brian asked as he took it and looked at the dark liquid suspiciously.

“A few. I think that one is either rum, or whiskey,” she informed him.

Brian untwisted the cap and smelled the contents. He shrugged and took a drink. It burned all the way down and he coughed for a solid thirty seconds. Sharon hit him on the back even though it did little to help him.

“Bleh, how do you even drink this?” he wanted to know.

“I can’t believe you just did that. You are the last person I would ever expect to see drink out of one of Rayanne’s mystery bottles,” Rickie said with annoyance.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Sharon mused and she held out her hand to indicate that she wanted her own bottle as well.

“So I was thinking we would head over to Louis’ and see who’s playing,” Rayanne suggested as she handed out bottles to her friends like they were Halloween treats.

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Delia.

The three girls linked arms playfully and started in the direction of the club. Rickie grabbed Brian by the elbow and stopped him.

“What the actual hell!?” Rickie spat at his friend.

“What? You said I should come out and have fun,” he told him defensively. “We both know that I am incapable. So what if I drink a little, it’s not like I’m driving. It’s not like perfect Angela Chase is here to judge me.”

“Judge you for what?” came a familiar voice from behind the two boys.

“Oh hey, Angela. We didn’t know you were coming,” Rickie said as calmly as possible as he turned to see the girl was suddenly behind them.

“What’s going on? Where are the others?” Angela asked as she looked from one boy to the other.

“We just...they just...we were just...” Brian stuttered unable to form a sentence.

“The others just went on ahead. So we should, like, catch up to them,” Rickie said, putting Brian out of his misery.

“Okay cool,” she said with relief. 

There was no way Angela had come all the way downtown just to hang out with Rickie and Brian. Not that she minded Rickie, but she felt that he got a little odd when Brian was around.

Their group of three caught up with the other three as they reached Louis’. There was a live band on the little stage and the main room was dark, loud and smokey. There were a lot of kids around their age, but also quite a few older ones as well.

“Angela! You came!” Thrilled Sharon as she threw her arms around her friend and hugged her.

“Wow, Sharon are you okay?” Angela asked a little taken aback by her excitement.

“We got our pre-party on already,” offered Delia, who unlike Sharon, hadn’t really had much more to drink than her first sample.

“Are you drinking too, Krakow?” Angela asked with some concern.

“So what if I am? What do you care?” Brian shot back. Rickie looked at the ceiling in embarrassment.

“That’s right, we’re all gonna get wasted. Even Mr straight A’s over there,” Rayanne jeered.

“I should have known something like this would be your idea,” Angela said accusingly at Rayanne.

“Then you shouldn’t be so surprised,” Brian told her tersely as he finished his little bottle.

“Did you just drink that whole thing?” Rayanne giggled.

“Maybe. What’s the big deal?” he retorted through a fit of coughing.

“For someone normal, probably not a big deal at all...but you’ve never had hard booze before,” she explained trying to keep from laughing at him.

“There was hardly enough in there to do any harm. It’s not like I’m going to get alcohol poisoning,” Brian said slightly uncertain.

“Poisoning, no,” she said and started to laugh again.

“God, Rayanne he hasn’t even done anything yet. Why are you laughing so hard?” Rickie wanted to know.

“Because it’s him.” Was all she was able to say.

“She’s kinda right. Maybe I should get you home,” Angela reasoned and put a hand on Brian’s arm.

“One boyfriend not enough? Gotta double dip in the pool?” Rayanne blurted between giggles.

“I said I would get him home. Not take him home...and what do you care?” Angela shot back.

“Oh come on Chase! We’ve literally been here for ten minutes,” whined Sharon from off to the side.

“Fine. Okay maybe in like an hour,” Angela conceded as she looked to Brian again for a response.

“S-sure,” he said as he blushed and continued to stare at the girl’s hand on his arm.

“Come on Rickie, let’s dance!” Called Delia, already feeling the music. 

She yanked him over to where others were moving around and bumping into one another. It wasn’t exactly what either of them would call dancing, but it would do. 

After a moment Sharon joined them. Then Rayanne pulled Brian away from Angela and forced him to squish in with them and jump up and down with her.

Angela sat herself at a nearby table and watched her friends bounce around like idiots. Suddenly, she felt like she was a mom chaperoning the party. So she forced her way over to them and let her freak flag fly.

When the band finished their set the group of friends took a much needed break and stepped outside. It was a cool spring night. They all looked around at each other doing an internal roll call. Delia noticed that there were only five of them and Brian was missing.

“Where’s Brian?” Delia shouted, the music causing her to speak louder than necessary.

“Where’s your brain?” asked Sharon with obvious confusion having misheard her.

“No, I think she asked where Brian went,” Rickie told her and Sharon nodded.

“What?” asked Delia.

“I said you asked where Brian went,” Rickie repeated, facing the girl.

Just then Brian came outside and handed out three bottles of water.

“I would have gotten more, but they charge way too much,” he explained.

“That’s so thoughtful,” admitted Rayanne. “I’m gonna have to bring you to my next rave.”

“No thanks,” Brian said curtly.

“I don’t know if I want to go back in there. My ears are ringing,” said Sharon as she rubbed her arms with her hands. “But it’s kinda too cold to stay out here.”

“Hey, we could go back to the theatre. Tino totally showed me where we could get inside at the back,” Rayanne suggested as she pulled out the plaid shirt from her bag and handed it to Sharon to put on. She took it gladly.

“That sounds a little sketchy,” Delia said unconvinced.

“It’ll be fine,” Rayanne told her. “But if it’s past your bedtime, by all means go home.”

“Fine...I’m in,” Delia retorted not wanting to be left behind.

“Are you sure?” Rickie asked her, not wanting her to give in due to peer pressure.

“Sure, I’m sure,” she said with a determined nod.


	3. The Theatre

3-The Theatre

The group walked back to the old building and went down the side alleyway. There they found an old, rusted fire exit door. Rayanne pushed on it to no avail.

“Come on!” Rayanne huffed with frustration and gave it another shove.

“That was your big way in? Just push on a door and hope it opens?” Brian criticized from beside her. Rayanne rolled her eyes at him and then got an idea.

“Hey Krakow, you ever take martial arts?” She asked as she mischievously grinned up at him.

“Say no, Brian,” Rickie prompted. “You’ve been drinking and are more likely to break your leg than kick that door in.”

“Rickie’s right,” Angela said backing him up. 

Brian made a face of indignation at both of them. He was about to defend himself when Sharon started pointing.

“Hey look, there’s a window over here. If one of us can get up and into it they can let the rest of us inside,” Sharon blurted with enthusiasm.

“I don’t know, it’s really high up. Even if someone gets through it that looks like a long fall on the other side,” Angela rationalized.

“Stop wasting time. Kick the door already!” Rayanne shouted and hit Brian in the arm.

The boy looked like he was going to give it a try and everyone moved away.

“Brian don’t be stupid,” Angela warned as a last effort to stop him.

He gave her a look that implied he didn’t care what she thought. As Brian got ready to make his attempt, Angela closed her eyes tight and turned away. The boy gave the metal door an impressive round house kick with as much force as he could manage. 

There was a loud bang and Angela was sure it was the sound of his leg snapping in two. Then everyone was cheering. She opened her eyes to see that the door was in fact open and Brian was in fact fine.

“Way to go Krakow!” Rayanne told him as she pulled him down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Brian watched frozen in place from shock as everyone went inside. 

“It’s okay, Brian. You can’t catch anything from a peck on the cheek,” Angela snarked as she passed by him.

“Shut up! That’s not what I was thinking,” he called after her defensively.

It was quite dark on the inside of the theatre. Rickie and Delia tried a couple of the light switches and to everyone’s amazement some of the lights came on. Many of the bulbs were long burnt out or broken, but the few that worked helped them to at least see where they were going.

They could now see that the old style theatre wasn’t actually looking too shabby. It was old enough that it only had the one big room with one big screen framed with large red curtains. Not like the new multiplex that had opened just a few blocks away.

Sharon and Rayanne ran up to the balcony section and flopped on a couple of velvet covered seats. Rickie and Delia sat down in front. Brian looked to Angela to see where she might choose to sit down.

“Of course Sharon would choose to hang with her new best friend,” Angela grumbled, mostly to herself.

Brian decided he couldn’t wait for her to make a decision. He was starting to feel a little woozy from the alcohol. He started to walk the short distance to Rickie and Delia. To his surprise, Angela followed.

Brian sat and then pushed the seat down next to him so he could lie out flat. Delia giggled at his sad state. She was grateful he had chosen to to put his head next to her and not his feet; so she wouldn’t be forced to look at the boy’s butt if he talked to her.

“Aw, did the adrenaline of being a super hero wear off?” Delia snickered.

“The room just started to spin a little,” Brian told her quietly.

“Yeah that can happen when you drink,” Rickie said with a shaming tone.

“Are you okay, Brian?” Angela asked as she knelt down next to his face. He stared at her for a moment and then nodded.

“You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me, you know,” he muttered.

“I still have some water if you want some,” Angela said, ignoring his words.

“Thanks. I think I could use some,” he confessed as he sat up again and took the bottle from her. As he took a long drink she sat next to him,

“Still having fun?” she joked, causing Delia to laugh.

“Hey, Rayanne is actually behaving, mostly,” said Rickie with a grin.

“Where did they go?” asked Delia.

“Up to the second level,” Angela told her.

Just then they heard Sharon shout, “Rayanne stop it! That’s not funny!”

The four friends turned their heads to look behind and up. Rayanne was standing on the other side of the safety rail on the balcony. She was still holding on with one hand and was waving down at them with the other.

“Chill out Cherski! Hello down there!” Rayanne cheered down at them.

“Rayanne! Listen to Sharon and get back on the safe side of that railing!” Rickie commanded her with obvious distress.

“Oh come on Rickie, it’s not that high up,” she yelled back as she swung out a little with one foot dangling into nothingness.

“Rayanne, don’t be so stupid,” Angela called up as she headed to the stairs.

“You showed me how fun that is, now come back to safety,” they heard Sharon plead.

“You guys are so lame!” Rayanne jeered to the rafters.

Brian’s head was spinning and looking up at the girl’s antics was making him feel like he was going to vomit.

“Stop being such a lunatic and get the fuck down already! You might not care if you fall and break your neck, but we’re the ones who will have to live with the trauma for the rest of our fucking lives,” he shouted very uncharacteristically at Rayanne.

“Jesus, Krakow, calm down!” Rayanne shouted down at him. 

By now Angela was by Sharon’s side and together they helped Rayanne back to safety.

“Did you know he could curse like that?” Rayanne asked them bewildered.

“No. Must be your bad influence,” Angela chuckled as the three of them sat heavily in the theatre seats.

“She’s safe now!” Sharon called down to the others.

“Thank God!” Rickie and Delia said together.

Brian was too busy running over to a nearby garbage can where he promptly vomited.

“That must be Brian,” Rayanne mused as she heard the tell-tale retching echo up to them.

“Ew, gross. Poor bastard,” Sharon winced as she made a face of disgust.

“Maybe we should go now,” Angela suggested, making eye contact with Sharon.

Sharon glance at her watch and frowned. “It’s only 10:25pm. I can’t go home yet,” she complained.

“Well, I think Brian has had enough fun for tonight,” Angela stated as she stood to make her way back downstairs.

“Okay, mom!” Rayanne called to the back of her head.

“Rayanne...shut up!” Angela spat as turned on her heal to face them again. “You just about killed yourself a minute ago. That was not fun.”

“It was for me,” she smirked.

“Whatever. You’re crazy,” Angela muttered as she started down the stairs.

On the main level Brian was lying down again and Delia was resting her head on Rickie’s shoulder.

“I think we’re ready to leave,” Rickie told Angela as she approached their group.

“What a bust. I mean the club was fun for a while, but this wasn’t what I was expecting,” lamented Delia.

“What were you, like, expecting?” Angela wanted to know.

Before Delia could answer her there was a loud metal creak from the door by the screen where they had come in. Three guys came in and started to look around. Angela was instantly on edge. She was sure they were in for trouble; at least until they came further into the light.

“Hey Graff is that you?” Shouted the broader sandy blond. 

“Tino!? Yeah man. What are you guys doing here?” Rayanne shouted back as she started to run down to meet them. Sharon followed, not wanting to be left alone.

“Angela?” It was Jordan who called her name and was at a loss as to why his girlfriend was hanging out in an abandoned theatre without him.

“Jordan, what’s going on?” she asked, suddenly shy.

“Kill me now,” Brian murmured into the velvet seat cushion at the mention of Jordan’s name.

“What’s wrong with your friend?” asked Shane, the third guy who had just joined them.

“He drank...like not even a lot, just for the first time,” Rickie told him.

“Sucks for you kid,” Shane chuckled as he knocked the seat with his knee on purpose causing a wave of nausea to shoot through Brian.

“Do that again and I’ll puke on your shoes,” Brian grumbled.

“Boy’s got balls,” Shane mused as he moved away and sat behind Rickie.

“Since when are you hanging with Graff?” Jordan asked hesitantly and then he gave Angela a kiss.

“It’s a long story,” she said dismissively.

Meanwhile Rayanne and Sharon joined them. Rayanne gave Tino a bear hug and Sharon sat nervously next to Shane.

“Hey,” Sharon said as she gave him a side glance.

“Hey yourself,” Shane said suggestively as he checked her out.

Sharon was both flattered and disgusted at the same time. 

“So, you just hanging out and getting bombed in here?” asked Tino with a laugh.

“We were at Louis’ but it was too crowded. So we thought we’d do a little B and E,” she explained with a smile.

“How did you get in? Was that door open when you guys got here?” Shane asked suspicious that hadn’t been the case,

“No way. We thought about climbing up to a window, but then Brian kicked the door in,” Rayanne declared with pride.

“Which one is that?” Tino asked bemused by her story.

“That would be the one who can’t stay upright,” Rickie said gesturing to Brian who was still in a horizontal position on the two seats.

“Good job,” Shane snarked as he took out a joint and a lighter from his jacket pocket.

“Um, you aren’t going to smoke that, are you?” Sharon asked appalled by his lack of consideration.

“Sorry prom queen, does this bother you?” Shane asked sardonically.

“Ugh, never mind,” she huffed and got up to walk away from him.

“So you must be the infamous Angela. I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Tino said as he let his eyes wander over the girl.

“Hey man, that’s my girl,” Jordan warned him.

“I know, I know. Chill Catalano,” he laughed. “She’s cute. You know, if you like that sort of thing.”

“You’re a real asshole sometimes,” Jordan shot back as he put a protective arm around Angela and walked her away a short distance. “This is why I don’t want you around my so called friends,” he told her in hushed tones.

“I can see that,” she agreed and looked over her shoulder at Tino who had moved on to chatting up Delia.

“And what’s your name, beautiful?” he asked the curly haired brunette.

“Delia,” she said, trying not to blush.

“And we were just leaving,” said Sharon as she pushed Tino to the side and grabbed Delia by the hand to pull her away.

“What are you doing?” Delia wanted to know. 

“These guys are bad news,” Sharon whispered. “They only care about drugs, alcohol and fast girls.”

“Oh,” Delia said in acknowledgment. “I guess we should go then.” 

“Right behind you,” called Rickie as he jostled Brian trying to get him to return to full consciousness,

“What!?” Brian complained sourly at being disturbed.

“We’re going,” Rickie informed him just as tersely.

“Aw, poor little kids got to get home before their mommies get worried,” Shane teased cruelly from his seat.

“Rayanne are you coming?” Rickie pleaded as he helped Brian stand.

“What? No way. The night is young,” Rayanne told him, waving him off.

“Fine, just keep away from any more balconies,” he warned her before he and Brian left with the others.

“Hey Catalano, you’re not ditching us for your girl, right?” Tino called over.

“It’s fine. Just stay here,” Angela huffed with disappointment. 

“Yeah, but if I stay that means Graff is hanging with us. No thanks,” Jordan told her.

“But won’t you, like, lose face if you leave with me?” she asked with concern.

“I think I’d rather go have sex with my girl than hang with you dip-shits,” he shouted back at his buddies.

“Classy, Jordan,” Angela winced.

“You know I don’t mean anything by what I said, right?” he said trying to reassure her.

“Fuck you, Catalano!” Shane cursed angrily.

“Wait, no one is staying?” Rayanne blurted when she finally realized all of her friends had left the building. “Sorry Tino...I should jet,” she told him and ran after Angela and Jordan.

“I guess we’re no one,” Tino said to Shane.

“Fuck that! I am not no one!” Shane declared as he extinguished his lit roach.

“Where are you going?” Tino asked with a nervous laugh as Shane took off towards the door.

“Come on...we are not going to be two dudes hanging out alone together in a rundown theatre,” he informed him. 

Tino shrugged and followed his friend out; making sure to shut off the lights as they went in case they ever wanted to come back. There was no sense in leaving evidence that anyone had been there.


	4. Getting Back to Rayanne’s

4- Getting back to Rayanne’s

Out in front of the building the group gathered to figure out their next move. Sharon was first to complain when Jordan and the other two guys joined them.

“Didn’t we just leave you people inside? You know that was on purpose, right?” Sharon asked the idiot boys with little to no social consideration.

“I think I’m going to throw up again,” Brian stated as he swayed next to Rickie.

“Aim away from everyone, okay,” Rickie told him in earnest.

Brian nodded which was enough to cause what was left in his stomach to empty out on the small patch of grass beside the sidewalk.

“Wow, that was awful,” Delia said holding a hand to her face and moving away from where she’d been standing close to Rickie.

“Look, my place is a few blocks from here. Why don’t we go there so poor, stupid Krakow can pass out with what little dignity he has left,” offered Rayanne.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m sure Jordan doesn’t want him puking in his car,” Angela said in agreement.

“I think I’m gonna head home. There’s a pay phone just over there. I’ll call for a cab maybe,” Rickie told Rayanne.

“You know what...let me drive you. Me and Shane were going to check out a house party anyways and it’s across town,” offered Tino in a moment of kindness.

“Can you take me too? I think I’m ready to call it a night,” asked Delia politely.

“Sure beautiful. Anyone else?” Tino said and Delia blushed. When no one else said anything the four of them took off to find Tino’s car.

“Hey Angela, I think your friends have this handled. I don’t think you need to stay,” Jordan said in hopes that she would leave with him.

“I don’t know,” Angela started to say as she watched Sharon try to help Brian steady himself.

“Fine. I’ll help get Brain to Graff’s place. Then maybe you’ll go with me?” he begged, trying to find a compromise that would work for everyone. Angela couldn’t help but smile at his continued mispronunciation of the boy’s name. 

“Sure. Help us get him to the apartment and we can take off,” she said as Jordan smiled back.

It took a little longer than expected, but they made it back to Rayanne’s place. Everyone was keeping as much distance as they could in the elevator in case Brian got sick from the motion. Luckily, he made it without further incident.

Jordan helped Brian to the couch and laid him down. Rayanne’s mother was obviously not home.

“How much did he drink, again?” Jordan asked as he tucked a stray hair behind his ear.

“Barely anything. He’s just useless,” Rayanne mused as she sat down on the floor next to the boy on the couch.

“Whatever. Are you good to go?” Jordan asked as he turned to Angela.

“What? You’re leaving?” Sharon whined as she made a sad face.

“Look just stay and be safe. I’m not the one whose drunk,” Angela shot back a little annoyed.

“Fine. Go make out with your hot boyfriend,” she huffed with annoyance.

“Sharon, he can hear you,” Angela said nervously.

“Oh like he doesn’t know he’s hot,” Sharon said without understanding the girl’s concern through her haze.

“So your friends think I’m hot, huh?” Jordan snarked with a grin.

“Shut up,” Angela laughed as they left, closing the door behind them.

“And then there were three,” commented Rayanne with a sigh.

“See that was the right way to do that,” Brian muttered from beside her with a half smile.

“Thanks,” she told him and then he passed out. 

Rayanne rolled the boy onto his back. She began to undo his button up shirt causing Sharon to take notice.

“What are you doing?” she asked a little unsure.

“The guy smells like puke, so I’m taking his shirt off. What? You thought I was going to have my way with him with you standing there?” Rayanne explained and then laughed at the ridiculous notion.

“Oh, right. That’s good then,” Sharon said as she sat in an adjacent arm chair. “I like your apartment.”

“Thanks. I know it’s not as nice as where you live,” she said casually as she pulled Brian’s shirt all the way off. Then she frowned at his t-shirt. “This stinks too,” she added as she tried to yank at it.

“I think he needs to sit up,” Sharon laughed.

Rayanne ignored her and went to the kitchen. She returned with a large pair of scissors. Sharon giggled in disbelief that the girl was actually going to cut off his shirt. She made a small slice through the fabric near his middle and then tore the rest of the way up with ease.

“Oh my God, you did it,” the cheerleader laughed. “I guess he’s lucky he missed his pants.”

Brian was out cold and hadn’t noticed a thing. Once he was naked from the waist up Rayanne tossed his dirty clothes in the garbage. She came back with a large bowl to place by his head and covered the boy with a blanket. 

“Sleep tight, you weirdo,” Rayanne said with a pat to his curl covered head.

“Now what?” Sharon wanted to know.

“We could watch something from my mom’s porn collection,” Rayanne said with a casual air.

“Your mom has an actual collection?” Sharon asked trying to downplay her shock.

“Sure. Single ladies don’t always need a man to enjoy themselves. Sometimes watching one will suffice. Or two sometimes,” she said with a shrug.

“Like, gay porn?” Her friend giggled uncomfortably.

“Hey, you have Brad Pitt. I happen to like the Brad Pitt look-alike and his friend the George Clooney look-alike,” Rayanne said with a laugh.

“Wow...I mean, just wow,” Sharon said so loudly that Brian made a sound like he’d heard her. “Oops,” she whispered as she watched to be sure he wasn’t awake.

“Come on,” Rayanne said as she dragged her into her mother’s room.


	5. Delia goes for a Ride

5-Delia goes for a ride

Meanwhile on the other side of town...Tino’s hot rod pulled up outside of Rickie’s apartment building. He didn’t dare divulge that he was currently living with one of their high school teachers.

“Thanks,” Rickie said with gratitude as he climbed out of the back seat. “You gonna be okay, Delia?” he asked with minor concern. Normally he would have been more at ease if they had dropped her off first, but his destination was closest.

“Don’t worry about me, Rickie,” Delia told him with a nervous smile.

“Yeah, Rickie. She’ll be safe in our capable hands,” Shane snarked from the passenger seat.

“Don’t be a creep,” Tino told his friend as he hit him upside the back of the head. “She’ll be fine. You have my word, Rickie,” he added to put him at ease.

“Okay. Good,” Rickie said still a little unconvinced.

They pealed off and turned down another street. When they continued on without asking where to go, Delia started to worry.

“So I live in the garden district,” she started to say.

“Oh, you actually wanted to go home?” Tino asked her in the rear view mirror. “I thought maybe you wanted to party. My mistake.”

“Come on, Tino. She’s just a kid. Take her home,” Shane huffed with annoyance.

“You know what? We’re almost there. Why don’t I drop you, Shane?” Tino offered as he sped up a little.

“Sounds good to me. The rest of the guys will be there for sure,” he said in agreement.

Delia could feel her worry increase as they pulled up to a very happening, very loud house party. She thought about what Sharon had said when she warned her about what type of guys they were. As they waited for Shane to get out of the car it occurred to her that if she only knew where in town they actually were she would jump out and take her chances.

When Tino didn’t pull away after his friend left she mustered enough courage to look at the side of his face. Tino turned around and gave her an easy smile. He really was good looking even if he was potentially dangerous.

“What am I, your chauffeur? Come up front. I promise I won’t bite,” he teased as he lightly patted her knee.

“Oh, right,” she said trying not to let her voice tremble with nerves. 

She did as he asked and got in beside him in the now vacant passenger seat. As she buckled her belt she felt like he was watching her. She turned just in time to catch him adjusting the rear view mirror so he could look down her shirt. 

“Great”, she thought, “I am so getting assaulted.” She bit the inside of her cheek to stop her hysteria from bubbling to the surface.

“So you gonna tell me where you live?” Tino asked as they pulled back onto the street.

“In the garden district,” she told him again and then gave him her address.

They drove in silence for a while with Tino glancing at her from time to time.

“You don’t do this a lot, huh? Hang out downtown with girls like Rayanne?” he asked with interest.

“No, not really. I’m more Rickie’s friend than Rayanne’s friend,” she clarified.

“I get it. Too bad. I probably won’t see you around,” Tino told her with actual disappointment.

“We go to the same high school, don’t we?” Delia asked a little unsure.

“Yeah, but you go to class. You probably love taking tests; I can tell. The actual school part of school is not really my thing,” he informed her, giving her another look.

They slowed down and he pulled his car into the parking lot of a park near her house. Delia figured if he was about to try anything she could run home in five minutes flat.

Tino shut off the engine and turned towards her as he undid his belt. He caught the blatant look of fear in her eyes and put his hands up defensively.

“Whoa, calm down, gorgeous,” he said softly trying to soothe her. “I was going to offer you a goodnight kiss. I thought maybe your parents would be waiting at the door and you might prefer some privacy. I know I’m that the sort of guy parents love to see bring their daughters home...but if you’re going to jump out of your skin, forget it.”

“You just wanted to give me a kiss?” she asked swallowing the lump in her throat.

“I’ll admit I wanted more, but now I know that you’re not like that,” Tino told her respectfully.

Delia wondered if Angela had had a similar experience with Jordan. He was obviously this type of boy as well.

“Just one kiss?” she asked again, feeling a little less afraid and little more bold.

“You’re just so sweet, how could I not at least try?” he confided with another smooth smile.

She smiled back; the kind of genuine smile that showed off her dimples and crinkled the corners of her eyes. He took it as her permission to proceed and leaned over. She let her eyes fall closed as he captured her mouth with his and she melted into his touch as his hand cradled her face.

Delia was mildly surprised when he pulled away without trying anything more. The boy hadn’t even tried to slip her the tongue. She tried to convince herself that she had no reason to be disappointed and reminded herself that only a moment ago she had been afraid of the guy.

“Thanks Delia,” he said quietly, using her name for the first time. She was amazed he remembered it.

Tino turned back to face forward and was about to buckle his belt when she put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked from the girl’s hand to her face.

“You don’t usually hang with the same girl more than once, right?” Delia asked skeptically.

“Well if we hung in the same circles, maybe. Or do you mean to ask of I’m a one night stand kind of guy?” He asked with a chuckle at her new found confidence.

“Yeah, sure. Like, you don’t date girls. You just screw around,” she said without judgement.

“Dating is just a sappy way for guys to get what they want. I figure just be up front about it. If you wanna fuck, just do it,” he admitted with a shrug.

Delia took a moment to regroup after his words hit home. She knew she wasn’t that kind of girl. She liked the fluff. Romance was fun. Only a little voice inside her nagged; did she want two more years of disappointments like Brian Krakow, or throw caution to the wind and try a real man like Tino on for size?

“Can I think about it?” she dared to ask as she squeezed his bicep.

Tino licked his lips and looked at her hand again. “I would love you to think about it,” he purred as he picked up her hand and kissed her palm. She flushed from ear to ear and then took her hand back.

He buckled his belt and started the car. This time he stopped across from her house. He didn’t shut off the engine, but waited for her to get out. As she came around to his window to thank him she bent down a little. She knew he was staring at her breasts again, but no longer cared.

“Thanks...for the ride. And for the kiss,” she told him.

“Anytime. Just tell Graff if you change your mind. Either way, I know where to find you,” Tino told her as he met her eyes to prove he was sincere.

Then he was gone and Delia let out a long calming breath. Now she truly understood the appeal of a bad boy.


	6. Rickie’s Visitor

6-Rickie’s visitor

Rickie jingled his keys as he walked up to the main doors of his building. He startled a little as Tino’s car squealed its’ tires. He would have to call Delia later and make sure she got home okay.

As Rickie went through the first set of doors he found a familiar face waiting for him.

“Hey,” Corey said shyly as he stood from where he’d been seated by the locked entrance.

“Um, hi. What are you doing here?” he asked his friend with minor alarm.

“I heard you guys were going out tonight and thought I would catch you after,” he told him casually as he adjusted his glasses.

“Oh...did anyone even ask if you wanted to join us? I mean, we totally should have,” Rickie explained suddenly feeling guilty for not inviting him.

“Yeah, Rayanne mentioned something...but it just didn’t sound like my thing. Don’t feel bad, or anything,” said Corey, reassuring him.

“Okay, cool,” he sighed with relief. “So, why are you here?”

“I thought maybe we could hang. Like, just you and me,” Corey told him with a small smile.

“It’s kind of late,” Rickie said nervously.

“It’s not that late, but if you want me to leave...” Corey started to say, taking the hint.

“No. No, I mean...sure. You wanna come inside?” Rickie offered hoping he hadn’t just missed his chance.

“That’s the idea,” said Corey with another smile.

The two boys made their way inside and up to the apartment where Rickie was staying with Mr. Katimski and his partner. Luckily, Corey was already aware of his living arrangements.

“Hey Mr. Kay. Corey’s with me, I hope that’s alright?” Rickie said as he came through the door.

“Of course, Enrique. As long as his parents know where he is,” the teacher replied.

“They do, no worries,” Corey told him with a courteous wave of his hand.

Rickie led the other boy into his room. It was once an office, so the space was a little cramped. They both sat on the twin bed since there was nowhere else to sit.

“Oh, did you want anything? Are you thirsty?” Rickie asked a little unused to having guests over.

“No, I’m okay,” Corey told him.

“Hungry?”

“I’m fine,” said Corey again with a chuckle.

“Right.” 

Rickie kicked off his shoes and pulled his feet up onto the bed. Corey did the same hoping it would ease his friend’s nerves.

“So what did you guys get up to?” he asked trying to break the ice.

“Oh we went to this little hole in the wall club downtown,” Rickie said distractedly as he fidgeted and smoothed the blanket by his leg.

“That’s it?” the other boy asked expectantly.

“Well, we kind of broke into that old theatre and hung out, but it was pretty lame. Rayanne did this stupid thing—she dangled herself off the balcony. I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack,” Rickie rambled.

“So, I guess I was right. Not really my sort of thing,” Corey hummed.

“What is your sort of thing?” Rickie asked after a moment of silence.

“I dunno. Good people hanging out...not acting like total mental cases,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, just about everyone was acting like a mental case,” Rickie admitted with a goofy grin.

“Do you mind if we put on some music?” Corey asked as he slid over to the tape deck on the nearby shelf.

“Um, sure,” he said with a shrug, uncertain of what he’d left in the player.

The boy hit play and turned up the volume a little. It was the Cranberries’ album Rickie had borrowed from Angela. 

Corey didn’t seem bothered and he moved closer to Rickie again and lay on his side. Rickie decided to follow his example and lay down to face him. They listened to a song and then another.

“Why do you go out places with Rayanne if you don’t enjoy yourself?” Corey asked as they got to the end of side one.

“I don’t know. I think I used to because we were like the only people we could count on. I felt, like, responsible for her. Tonight I went because I didn’t want to be left out...and Delia was there,” Rickie explained as he stared at the other boy’s shirt. 

He noticed that he’d missed the second to last button and was finding it easier to focus on the button hole than look Corey in the eye since they were in such close proximity.

“So you felt responsible for Delia?” Corey asked him, trying to get clarification.

“No, I mean...maybe a little,” he admitted.

The tape started to auto-play the second side.

“What about you? When do you just get to be responsible for yourself?” Corey asked as he tried to get Rickie to look at him.

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Rickie as he finally made eye contact.

“Like, when do you get to have a good time?” he re-iterated with a grin.

“Oh...well now’s nice,” Rickie told him.

“Good,” Corey told him as he grinned wider.


	7. Jordan’s in a Mood

7- Jordan is in a mood

Jordan and Angela drove around for a while after they left Rayanne’s building. She hoped that they weren’t being too cruel to Brian in his inebriated state. Not that he wouldn’t deserve a permanent marker moustache for being such a wet blanket. But Rayanne was known for being quite inventive when the moment moved her.

Jordan sighed with frustration as he tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. Angela knew he was annoyed, but wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he’d caught her breaking their plans to hang out. That would imply he made plans, which he never did.

“It’s because I was with Rayanne that you’re in a bad mood, right?” she asked, daring to break the silence. 

“Who said I was in a bad mood?” Jordan huffed as he checked his blind spot. Angela noted he was looking everywhere but at her since they got in the car.

“Oh please, I could cut the tension in this car with a knife,” she retorted.

“Fine, I’m in a bad mood. Happy?” he shot back tersely.

“Because...?” Angela prompted.

“Why do I always have to have a reason? Why do you insist I talk about everything all the time?” Jordan complained back at her.

“Just tell me, was it Rayanne? ‘Cause I really didn’t intend to hang out with her...she just happened to be there,” she told him defensively.

“I don’t care about that.”

“Then, what? You didn’t get to go with your friends? Because you can drop me off and catch up to them. I really don’t mind. Honestly,” she said sincerely. She would rather he was happy than mad at her for ruining his night.

“Forget about them. They don’t matter. They do the same dumb things every weekend,” he explained, still just as moody.

“Then what is it? Why are you in such a bad mood?” she wondered a little more thoughtfully. By process of elimination there was only one other reason she could think of and it was beyond absurd.

“Jordan...were you mad because Brian was there?” she asked him calmly.

“That little creep gets a little drunk and you feel you have to take care of him. It’s, like, insulting,” Jordan grumbled as he gripped the steering wheel fiercely with both hands.

“He’s been my friend for as long as I can remember. I just wanted to make sure he was going to be okay. I thought he was your friend too?” Angela said a little unsure. 

They hadn’t really talked about things since she confronted him about Brian helping him write the letter. She’d let it go with the understanding that it was Jordan’s intensions that mattered. She hadn’t considered that Jordan was onto Brian’s intentions.

“Yeah well he was my friend, but now I think he just wanted to use me to steal my girl,” Jordan told her.

“Well even if he did—which I don’t think he did—he failed...miserably. So cut the dork some slack. There is absolutely no reason to be jealous,” Angela explained trying to smooth things over.

“Jealous? I never said I was jealous!” He all but shouted. “Why would I ever be jealous of a jerk like him. He thinks he’s so much better than everyone else!”

“Jordan...please calm down, or pull over. The last thing I want is to get into a car accident because of some misunderstanding,” she said nervously. 

Jordan knew he was far from calming down and pulled over to the side of the road. Angela let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she put a hand on Jordan’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry you’re so upset,” she told him, her lower lip wobbling. “If I thought for one second that my friendship with Brian would bother you like that I never would have hung out with him.”

“Really?” Jordan asked in a more reasonable tone as he finally released his grip on the wheel.

“Truly,” she confirmed with a sad smile.

He reached over and gave her a passionate kiss. She finally put his mind at ease and he felt so much better, even more so with her in his embrace.

“Ah Ange, I love you,” Jordan told her as he pulled back to look her in the eye.

“You do?” she asked a little taken aback. Before he could realize her hesitation she answered back. “I love you too, Jordan.”

Her boyfriend smiled brightly as though all was forgotten from five minutes ago. He slowly pulled back onto the road and sped up as he merged back into traffic.

“Where are we going?” Angela asked. Before they were just driving around, but now it felt like he had a destination in mind.

“I have this place I want to take you,” he told her with a smile.

“Okay...but you’re not going to give me any clues?” she inquired playfully as he shook his head.

“Nope. I want it to be a surprise,” he said mysteriously.

Angela sat back and watched the lights as they passed. Although she was glad he was in a better mood and elated that they had said their first I love you’s, she was concerned that he might be taking her somewhere with a bed.


	8. Sharon doesn’t care for porn

8-Sharon doesn’t care for porn

Sharon took another handful of Chexmix from the bag as she tried to contain her laughter. Watching two guys do stuff to each other was not doing it for her...it was actually quite hilarious.

“Look, Cherski, if you don’t want to keep watching just say so. We can find something else,” Rayanne said as she paused the action on the screen and shifted a little on the bed.

“Sorry. I just have enough to get over when I’m confronted with one of those things. Two is just too weird,” she admitted frankly.

“Penises, Cherski. I mean, if you can’t say the word then you shouldn’t be anywhere near them, or watching them for that matter,” Rayanne laughed.

“Maybe I like romances more than, like, actual in your face porn,” Sharon said with mild disappointment.

“Yeah, I’ll bet you’re a sucker for the tall dark, handsome type who catches your eye across a room and then sweeps you off your feet,” her friend said with a sigh. “But that’s not real life. Real life is dirty...it’s being ravished by someone’s eyes and wanting them so bad you could rip their clothes off.”

“Tell me about it. Me and Kyle were naked more than clothed when we were alone together. It’s almost embarrassing,” Sharon confessed.

“So you didn’t have a problem with his penis?” Rayanne chuckled.

“No...I mean I tried not to make direct eye contact with it,” she told her and Rayanne laughed loudly at her wording.

“Oh my God, that is too funny!” she said breathlessly as she tried to stop laughing. 

“Hey Rayanne, you ever kiss a girl?” Sharon asked her quite seriously. 

“Maybe once or twice...you know, to see guys lose their shit over it,” she admitted without hesitation.

“You ever do it ‘cause you wanted to?” the cheerleader asked with a shrug.

“I guess not. Why...you wanna make out?” Rayanne asked as she gave her a weird look.

“What? No,” Sharon said and gave her friend a shove to the shoulder, knocking her over on the bed.

Rayanne sat up again and stared at Sharon. Her friend squirmed in her spot on the bed, suddenly uncomfortable. She looked away, as though embarrassed by the attention.

“Hey Cherski,” Rayanne said to get the girl to look back at her again.

“What?” Sharon asked as she turned her head. Rayanne caught her by the arm and pulled her closer. She planted a messy kiss on the other girl’s mouth.

Sharon pulled away first and gasped in surprise of her friend’s onslaught. “Oh my God,” she muttered.

“That bad?” Rayanne winced with disappointment.

Instead of answering her, Sharon pulled her back to her to kiss her again. This time their hands were everywhere. Rayanne moaned into her mouth and started to press the cheerleader into the mattress.

“Oh my God!” cried Brian from the doorway.

The two girls jumped apart and turned towards their uninvited guest. Brian ran from the room, afraid of the murderous look in Rayanne’s eyes. She caught him just before he got to the living room and tackled him to the floor. For such a small person she really knew how to take someone down.

He got tangled up in the blanket he had around him and she sat on the boys neck and shoulders to hold him down.

“What should we do to him?” Rayanne asked Sharon as the other girl stepped over them to come into the living room. She was laughing at how easily Brian was subdued.

“Do with him? Hasn’t he suffered enough?” she giggled.

“Exactly. I’ve already thrown up multiple times and my head is pounding. How are you even keeping me on the floor, you weigh like ninety pounds at best,” he rambled from the carpet.

Rayanne pushed his face down more just for good measure.

“Get off of him,” Sharon told her as she finally stopped laughing. “It’s just Brian. Who’s he going to tell? And who would believe him?”

The other girl decided she had a point and let him up.

“Thanks. I mean, it’s been awhile since I had rug burn on my face, so thanks for that too,” he snarked as he sat up and rubbed his tender cheek with his hand.

“Sorry. I guess I got carried away,” Rayanne admitted quietly.

“Do either of you know where my shirt ended up?” Brian asked as he instinctually looked down at his own bare chest. 

“Rayanne tossed it. You got vomit on it,” Sharon told him as she sat on the couch.

“Both shirts?” he asked with confusion. 

Both girls nodded. Rayanne left for a moment. When she returned she threw something at the boy. Brian realized it was a t-shirt and he pulled it on over his head. 

“The Smurfs?” he asked as he looked at the print on the front.

“Yeah, Brainy...I thought it would suit you,” Rayanne said with one raised brow.

“Thanks, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “I used your mouth wash. Hope that’s okay,” he added as he went to sit next to Sharon on the couch.

“Whatever. As long as you didn’t use my toothbrush,” she told him with a dubious look.

“Oh, was yours the blue one, or the pink?” he asked with fake concern.

“I hope you’re just being funny,” she snarked back at him.

“Brian is never funny,” Sharon commented as she tussled his hair like he was a child.

“Ouch, I have feelings you know,” he shot back as he knocked her hand away from his head.

“Hey Sharon...you ever think about making out with Brian?” Rayanne asked, almost daring her to answer.

“Once in a moment of desperation, but then I made up with my boyfriend,” she confessed with a hint of shame.

“Thanks, your words are like daggers,” Brian pouted, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Well you don’t have a boyfriend now,” Rayanne teased.

“Sorry Krakow, I am not drunk enough anymore,” Sharon said and patted him on the thigh.

“Maybe I’m not drunk enough, anymore,” he shot back.

“Oh please, you should be so lucky as to mess around with either of us,” Rayanne told him in earnest.

“What about you, Graff? You ever feel the need to steal a nerd’s v-card?” Sharon asked with a smirk.

“I am sitting right here,” Brian moaned and covered his head with the blanket.

“Nope. Below my pay grade,” she chuckled as he hid from their prying eyes.

“Thanks...I think I’ll just go back to sleep now,” he muttered, barely loud enough to be heard.

“What do you think about that Shane guy?” Sharon asked as she bounced on her couch cushion causing Brian to groan.

“Rumour has it he knocked up two girls last semester alone. He’s a dog with a capital D,” Rayanne informed her.

“And Tino?” her friend asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“Oh...yeah Tino’s cool. I mean, he’s always up for a good time, but at least he’s respectful,” she said after reflecting for a moment.

“That’s a relief. He was totally checking Delia out. I was a little worried when he offered to drive her home,” Sharon noted.

“Delia Fisher?” Brian asked with alarm as he sat up like a shot. “That goon was driving my Delia Fisher home?” 

“Krakow, she is not yours. You do not own her. You can’t even afford to rent a girl like her,” Sharon rambled, not really making any actual sense.

“I thought you were all tortured because of Angela,” Rayanne said with a chuckle at their strange banter.

“‘Cause that’s ever going to happen,” he huffed with despair.

“Well, it ain’t gonna happen with Delia either. You made sure of that yourself,” Sharon said with a knowing air.

“I know. I’m the worst,” he groaned and lay back down. “I’m gonna die alone. A sad, lonely virgin.”

Rayanne was in hysterics now. She couldn’t get over his impossibly pathetic demeanour. She almost felt bad for giving the boy a hard time earlier.

“Oh my God,” she puffed between bouts of laughter. “I almost feel sad enough for you to actually let you touch me. But not quite.” 

The girl was wiping tears from her eyes as she caught the glare he was giving her from under the blanket. It set her off laughing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clearly have too much time on my hands! Lol! Thank you to anyone who wanders through and reads this. Reviews and comments welcome. More to come soon.


	9. The Sleepover

9-The Sleepover 

There was a knock at Rickie’s door. Both boys turned in unison as it opened.

“Hey, Enrique. We’re going to turn in. Corey can stay if he wants, but it’s getting kind of late,” Mr. Katimski informed them.

“That would be okay? He if he stays over?” Rickie asked a little unsure. It had been ages since he had felt comfortable enough and safe enough to have a friend stay over.

“Well, sure. This is your home now too,” he reassured the boy with a warm smile.

“Thanks,” Rickie said with genuine gratitude. “Do you want to stay?” he asked turning back to Corey.

“Yeah. I mean I guess I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I’ll just call home real quick,” said Corey and he left the room to make the call.

“He’s a nice boy,” the teacher said as though giving his approval.

“Yeah, I think so,” Rickie mused.

“Oh you do?” Mr. Katimski asked knowingly.

“Stop it. He’s my friend. We’re just friends,” Rickie told him dismissively.

“Well gosh I hope so, or I wouldn’t be letting him sleep in your room,” he said with his best fatherly tone. “There are extra blankets and pillows in the hall closet. Good night.”

“Night, Mr. Kay,” Rickie called after him as he left the room.

Rickie went out to the closet to get some pillows and blankets as was suggested. Corey came up beside him and offered a hand.

“All good?” asked Rickie as he gave him a set of sheets.

“All good,” he concurred.

“There should be enough room on the floor to, you know, lie out,” Rickie told him.

“It’s fine. I’ve slept in weirder places,” said Corey as he lay out the bedding on the carpet.

“Yeah, totally,” he agreed. “I can take the floor if you want. I don’t mind.”

“No way. This is your room...you deserve the bed. Stop putting other people first.”

“Fine. You’re right...only...” Rickie trailed off uncertain.

“Only?” Corey asked with an adorable tilt of his head as he sat on the floor.

“I was thinking it would have been nice if the bed was bigger...and then no one would have to sleep on the floor,” Rickie informed him as he looked away with a shy flush to his cheeks.

“Oh, yeah. It’s too bad,” Corey replied as he came to sit on the bed again.

“It’s probably for the best. I sometimes get these night terrors and kick and stuff,” Rickie told him with a shrug.

“That sounds scary,” Corey said sincerely.

“Only if you’re close enough to get hit when I flail around,” Rickie joked in an attempt to make light of things.

Then Corey did something unexpected. He leaned in and hugged Rickie firmly. Rickie was in stunned panic mode and afraid to move, or say anything.

“Hey Rickie?” The boy muttered into his shoulder

“Um, yeah?” he replied nervously.

“Do you think you could let me be responsible for you? Like on a trial basis?” Corey said in earnest as he shifted so they were face to face, but continued to hold on to his shoulders.

“What...like my friend?” Rickie asked still confused.

Corey slowly shook his head and then gave Rickie a chaste kiss on the mouth.

“Oh...” Rickie uttered in understanding. “Okay.”

The other boy smiled and then held his face in both hands before giving him another, deeper kiss.

“You seem so surprised,” said Corey when they parted.

“I am. I had no idea you liked me like that. I mean, it’s great. I just thought I was the only one,” Rickie admitted as he floated on the happiness that was flooding his brain.

“Well then I’m happy I surprised you,” Corey told him as he discarded his glasses and kissed him again.


	10. A Little House in the Middle of Nowhere

10-A little house in the middle of nowhere.

It was around that time that Jordan pulled up outside a little house. They had travelled about fifteen minutes outside of town. It was right by the water and the closest neighbour was at least an acre away on all sides.

Angela caught the time on the car’s digital clock. It was just past midnight. She looked at the house again and thought this would be a great place to murder someone. Not that she ever considered such things, it just seemed like someplace you would read about in the paper.

Jordan shut off the engine and came around to open her door like a gentleman. He even offered her his hand as he helped out of the red convertible. She smiled shyly as he kept hold of her hand and led her towards the front door.

He paused by the two small steps and lifted a rock, retrieving a key.

“Who’s house is this?” she wanted to know before stepping inside.

“It belongs to Tino’s grandfather. He’s, like, in a home or something now, but the family hasn’t sold the place yet.”

“But you’re sure it’s still his, right?” she asked skeptically when she didn’t see a for sale sign anywhere.

“The key’s still where it should be,” he told her with a smile.

Angela waited and held her breath as he turned the key in the lock. Part of her was hoping it didn’t work and they’d be forced to leave. No such luck as it clicked and opened.

“Come on in. Make yourself at home,” Jordan said with a welcoming air. He turned on a couple of lights and Angela squinted against them.

“So what are we doing here?” she asked, a little afraid to hear the answer. She wandered into the small living room area and sat on the couch.

“I was thinking we could, you know, make tonight special,” he told her as he sat next to her and then kissed her to emphasize his meaning.

Angela couldn’t help the nervous laughter that bubbled up in her chest. Her boyfriend pulled back and gave her a pained look.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked, confused.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing. I mean I am, but it was, like, nerves. I would never laugh at you,” she babbled, hoping something made sense.

“Oh...well there’s no need to be nervous. I got you,” he said sweetly and then went back to kissing her.

Angela knew in that moment she had two choices. She could speak up and stop him, or stay quiet and go with it. The first would hurt his feelings and maybe start a fight; the second she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

“Have you been, like, planning this?” she asked him between kisses.

“I know you won’t be comfortable just anywhere. And it’s not like you were going to invite me up to your room,” he confessed looking for her approval.

“Well it’s a lovely thought,” she started to tell him, but before she could continue he sat back and ran a hand through his hair with frustration.

“You don’t really think that. You’re about to turn me down again,” he grumbled and then fixed her with his blue eyes.

“I just don’t know if I’m ready,” she said trying not to cry.

“We’ve been together, like, seriously together for almost two whole months. You still don’t feel like you can be with me?” he asked with disbelief.

“It’s not about time,” she told him.

“Then, what? You can say you love me, but you can’t show me. Unless you were lying?” he accused her with distain.

“Don’t do that. Don’t be so cruel as to throw my feelings for you into question,” she retorted as a tear slid down her cheek.

“So, you feel it, but you don’t want it? Angela you are so amazing and so beautiful and you are driving me crazy!” He shouted at her unable to hold back anymore.

“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked out loud not actually meaning to.

“Of course I do. God, Ange...you have no idea how beautiful and sexy you are. And you just...I don’t know. It’s like you make me feel like I’m capable. You treat me like a person and it’s such a turn on,” he explained passionately.

“Wow. Why didn’t you just say that before?” she asked playfully as she wiped her eyes. His words put her at ease and she stopped crying. “See, you do know how to tell me things.”

She leaned over and kissed him longingly. 

“Don’t tease, Angela. If you don’t want to do this don’t get my hopes up again,” he said sincerely.

“No. I mean...yes, I want to,” she told him with a seductive smile. “I think I just needed to hear you say what you said.”

“So, maybe there is something to all this talking after all?” he asked, still unsure. 

She nodded and pulled him to her again.


	11. Delia’s Surprise Visitor

11-Delia’s surprise visitor

Delia heard something hit her window. She decided she imagined it and rolled over in bed to get more comfortable. Then she heard it again. It sounded like hail, only she was sure the sky had been clear earlier.

The girl got out of bed and walked over to her window. When she couldn’t see anything she opened it and peered out into the darkness. Something moved by the hedge in her back yard. It was Tino. He had been tossing pebbles trying to get her attention.

“Tino?” she whispered loudly in his direction.

“Hey beautiful,” he called up to her as quietly as possible.

“You know this is creepy, right?” she retorted with a frown.

“I know...I’m sorry. Look, I just couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted to come back and see you again,” he said as he walked a little closer.

“It’s almost one in the morning. How did you even know which window was mine?” she shot back with distrust.

“I kinda watched in the windows when the lights were still on. I know that just makes me sound like an even bigger creep, but I swear I don’t normally follow girls home and act like some pervert peeping Tom,” he explained.

Delia considered his words for a moment and then leaned against the window frame.

“What exactly were you hoping would happen?” Delia asked with concern. “I am not coming down there and my parents are asleep in the next room.”

“Just say I can see you again tomorrow and I’ll go,” he said with a shrug.

“What?” Was all she could manage. She was expecting him to beg her to change her mind and come down to him, or let him in the house at the very least.

“S-sure, fine,” she stuttered.

“Great I’ll be by after dinner. We can go to the movies,” he informed her with a full on grin. Then he gave her a wave and left her yard.

Delia was left a little bewildered. The guy admitted earlier that he didn’t date. Either he fully intended to take her to see a movie, or he was hinting at them returning to the abandoned theatre. 

Either way, she wasn’t sure how she was going to explain to her parents about having a date on a Sunday night.


	12. Strange Bedfellows

12- Strange Bedfellows

Somehow Sharon never moved off the couch where she’d perched next to Brian. She ended up passed out and spooning him. Rayanne fell asleep in the arm chair and was curled up with a throw pillow.

Amber, Rayanne’s mother, let herself into the apartment sometime just before 9 am. As she entered her living room she looked around at the teenagers sleeping on her furniture and shook her head.

She decided to leave them be and walked back to her bedroom to change out of the dress from her date the night before. In her bedroom she found snacks on her bed and her pillows on the floor. She also noted the porn that was sitting in her VCR. She turned it on and chuckled at the scene where it had been stopped.

Brian slowly opened his eyes when he heard exaggerated moaning and seventies style electronic music coming from the bedroom. When he tried to sit up he realized something was weighing him down from behind.

He was a little thrown to discover it was Sharon and she was using him like a body pillow.

“Cherski,” he said in a loud whisper. 

When she failed to stir he tried again; this time he reached a hand back to shake her shoulder. Only he wasn’t quite paying attention and took hold of one of her breasts instead. 

“Cherski!” he called and then he realized his mistake and pulled his hand back.

“What!?” she cried as she whacked him square in the face with her hand.

“Fuck!” Brian cursed as he checked his nose to see if it was bleeding.

“Krakow? Did you just squeeze my boob?” 

“Whoa, what did I miss?” asked a just woken Rayanne. She smiled mischievously at the pair as they wrestled on the couch; both trying to get away from one another.

“I think your nail scratched my face,” he whined.

“Well why was your face so close to me? And your hands!” she shot back with annoyance and then held her head in her hands. “And why does my head hurt?”

“That would be all the fun we had last night,” Rayanne groaned and went to fetch something for their headaches. “Although it looks like maybe you two had a little extra fun without me,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked away.

“Ew! As if!” Sharon blurted and moved to the armchair to put more distance between them.

“Why do you keep acting like I’m some horrible, disgusting thing? There are worse guys you could wake up next to,” Brian complained as he walked over to the mirror near the door to check his face. The boy stumbled a little and wondered why his left leg was painful.

“Guys, just a little heads up. My mom is home, but don’t worry. She’s cool,” Rayanne informed them when she came back in the room with a bottle of aspirin. 

“What am I wearing? Oh wait...I remember,” Brian lamented as he looked at his shirt in the mirror. Luckily his face was fine and nothing was bleeding.

“Brainy Smurf,” Sharon giggled as she accepted a glass of orange juice and downed an aspirin.

“Hey do either of you know why my leg hurts? Like my knee, specifically,” he wanted to know as he took a pill as well.

“I have no idea,” Rayanne started to say and then seemed to get a clue. “Oh, no wait. You totally kicked that door in like a badass.”

“That was really stupid of me,” he moaned as he stretched out the leg again and winced.

“It sure was,” Sharon agreed and then lay her head down on the arm of the chair. “I feel like garbage.”

“Come on, cheer up. Who wants breakfast?” Rayanne asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Not me,” Sharon said at the exact same time that Brian said, “No thanks.”

Amber came into the room and raised her eyebrows at her daughter.

“You kids have fun last night?” she asked them with a knowing smile.

“We had a great time, didn’t we,” Rayanne prompted them to feign normalcy for a moment.

“Sure...we just stayed up way too late,” offered Sharon with a half-assed smile.

“I guess that can happen, Sharon,” Amber told the girl and then looked over to the boy she didn’t recognize. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh that’s just Brian,” Sharon said dismissively with a wave in his general direction.

“Okay,” said Amber when she realized she wasn’t going to get any more information.

“He’s that annoying guy who lives across the street from Angela. I’m sure I told you about him,” Rayanne elaborated.

“Sure. The boy who followed Angela around all the time and drove you girls crazy?” Amber asked trying to get a better idea if she knew who she meant.

“Yeah, that sounds right,” said Brian with a sigh of defeat. He was a loser to everyone; even their parents.

“Do you kids want a ride home?” Amber asked with a delightful smile.

“Yes, please,” Sharon and Brian said in unison; polite as always.

“You two crack me up,” Rayanne chuckled.


	13. Brian Goes for a Ride

13-Brian goes for a ride

Amber dropped Sharon first. The blond woman gave Brian a strange look as he winced again at the pain in his leg.

“You okay?” she asked with concern.

“Yeah, I did something to my knee last night. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he told her.

“Poor thing,” she sympathized as she rested her right hand on his left knee and rubbed it gently.

At first Brian thought she was just being a weird mom and trying to make him feel better, but then her hand lingered and slowly moved up to his thigh. He turned and looked out the window, desperate to distract himself from the warmth that was radiating from her touch.

“I guess you’ve probably noticed that I’m not like all the other moms,” Amber started to say as he started to sweat. “I like to think that I’m pretty young at heart. You know, more like a friend than a mom.”

Brian didn’t know where she was headed with her casual conversation, but he did notice her hand was headed a little further up his leg. It wasn’t that he wasn’t flattered and it wasn’t like she wasn’t very attractive. It was just that this was nothing like anything he’d ever experienced before and he had zero frame of reference on how to react.

They finally pulled up across from his house. The boy dared to make eye contact to thank her for the drive.

“Th-thanks. I mean...f-for the drive home, Ms Vallon,” he stuttered nervously.

“Please, call me Amber,” she told him with a squeeze of her hand to his thigh.

“S-sure, Amber,” he managed as he flushed from ear to ear.

“You know, I don’t know what my Raynnie was talking about. You seem like a very nice young man,” she said giving him another little squeeze.

“Thanks,” he said swallowing hard. “I should probably go now.”

“Oh, right,” said Amber with a laugh and she moved her hand away. 

Brian felt so relieved that he let out a little nervous laugh as well. But before he could turn away to open his door, the woman pounced on him and held his face with both hands and kissed him hard. 

He felt her tongue touch his lips and he instinctively open his mouth to her. Never in a million years would he have guessed his first kiss would be this dirty, or with a woman at least twice his age.

She pulled away from his face and smiled at him again. “You take care of yourself, Brian.”

“Uh Huh,” he nodded numbly and then he fumbled for the door handle. It took him about three tries before he got the door open and the blond woman just laughed playfully at his efforts.

Amber waved at him as she drove away and he waved back a little, still stunned by what had just transpired.

“Brian, are you just coming home?” 

Patty Chase, Angela’s mother, made him jump. He was completely unaware that anyone was around.

“What? Yeah. I mean, yes I just got home,” he told her as he quickly did a mental once over to make sure he didn’t look suspicious.

“Was that Rayanne’s mother who dropped you off?” Patty asked as she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

“Yeah. I was at Rayanne’s last night. I mean...like me and Sharon. Not just me. Obviously,” he rambled defensively.

“Was Angela with you? I thought she said she was going to meet all of you last night?” 

Patty sounded worried and it dawned on the boy that her concern had nothing to do with him.

“Oh, you mean Angela isn’t home yet? Oh, gosh. Well, she was with us for a while, but I think she left with Jordan,” he informed her, not really sure if he should. But he figured the girl’s parents must know that they were dating.

“Jordan? Great! And she didn’t come home last night,” Patty grumbled.

“Maybe he had car trouble,” he offered with a shrug.

“Well let’s hope so. Thanks, Brian,” she said tersely as she went back to her house and left him standing alone again.


	14. Telephone Tag

14- Telephone Tag 

Rickie woke to the disappointment of finding that Corey had slept on the floor. They did try sharing the bed, but it was a little tight.

He could hear the phone ringing in the hall and gingerly stepped over his guest to grab it.

“Hello?” Rickie asked into the receiver as he quietly closed his bedroom door.

“Hi Rickie. I hope I didn’t wake you,” came Delia’s voice on the other end.

“Delia? No not at all,” he told her. Then he cursed internally as he realized he never called the girl to make sure she had made it home okay.

“So something weird happened on the way home last night,” she started to tell him.

“I meant to call you...you know to see that you were okay. You’re okay, right? I mean, what happened?” he rambled with concern.

“I’m fine, Rickie. But Tino kissed me,” she told him.

“That bastard,” he said, suddenly angered.

“No, it’s okay. He kind of asked first. He was almost sweet,” she explained.

“Tino? He asked first? Are you sure? ‘Cause you really shouldn’t waste your time defending a jerk like him,” Rickie insisted.

“Look, I called because I wanted to ask Rayanne something, but I don’t have her number.”

“Oh, sure. Okay. Well I’m glad you’re okay,” he said a little calmer than before.

“Thanks. So can I have her number?” Delia prompted him again.

“Oh sure,” he said and gave it to her.

After they hung up, he wondered if he should have confided to her about Corey stopping by unexpectedly, but then decided he may have been overheard in the hall and it was probably for the best that he didn’t.

Rickie walked back into his room to find Corey had cozied up to his pillow in his bed. He slid in next to the other boy and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable,” he mused with a smile.

“I just wanted to keep the bed warm for you,” Corey told him and pulled him in for a better kiss.

“As wonderful as this is, we should probably act like nothing happened, or my fosters won’t let you sleep over again,” Rickie explained with a frown.

“We wouldn’t want that,” Corey agreed with a nod.

Rickie laughed and gave the boy one last kiss before they would both put on their best poker faces.

......

Delia dialled the number that Rickie gave her. The phone rang twice before a groggy sounding Rayanne picked up.

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked with annoyance.

“It’s almost 10am,” Delia informed her a little confused by the question.

“Oh...in that case; who is this?” Rayanne wanted to know since she didn’t recognize the voice.

“It’s Delia...Delia Fisher,” she told her.

“Hi, why are you calling me?” 

“I just wanted to know what the chances are that Tino is secretly a stand up guy,” she said in an attempt not to offend her.

“What are you talking about? My man Tino is always a stand up guy. Why? What did he do?” asked Rayanne as she rolled over in bed and stared at the ceiling.

“Nothing...yet. I mean he wanted to see me tonight. He said something about going to the movies, but I figured that must be code for something,” she explained still unsure.

“Why can’t he just want to go to the movies?” 

“Oh, I guess he could,” Delia said a little less concerned.

“If he just wanted to meet up and have sex he probably would have said so. He’s not really the bait and switch type,” Rayanne told her with a yawn.

“Oh, right.”

“Well, have fun at the movies. But Fisher...if you’re feeling prudish watch that he keeps his hands where you can see them and keep your legs crossed,” she added as a warning.

“Oh, right,” she said again and crossed her legs subconsciously. Not that Rayanne could see her.

......

Brian was sprawled out on his bed with an ice pack on his knee. His parents were away for the weekend, so at least no one was on his case over his whereabouts the night before. 

The boy heard the phone ring downstairs and he covered his head with a pillow. Then concerned that it could be his parents checking in on him, he stumbled down to get it.

“Hello Krakow residence,” he answered as politely as possible.

“Brian? It’s Rickie,” said Rickie.

“Hey Rickie. What’s going on?” he said a little more relaxed.

“So you survived your night at Rayanne’s, huh?” his friend asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, she was actually mostly nice to me...at least from what I remember,” he told him, still fuzzy on some of the details.

“Good...’cause you were kinda a mess,” he said with another laugh.

“So did you just call to laugh at me, or was there, like, an actual purpose for this conversation?” Brian drawled sardonically.

“Oh right...well I just wanted to let you know that I heard from Delia and she made it home okay,” he informed him.

“Delia? Oh right...that Tino guy was hitting on her, right? Sharon said something about it. But she’s fine?” Brian wanted to know.

“Yeah, but I think she likes the guy,” Rickie said hesitantly.

“Why are you telling me? Like the world isn’t unfair enough? First Angela leaves with Jordan and now Delia’s infatuated with this Tino guy. God, I even walked in on Rayanne and Sharon making out last night,” Brian ranted with distress.

“You what?” Rickie yelled into the phone.

“Damn it...I wasn’t supposed to say anything. I did NOT just tell you that,” he shot back defensively.

“Wow, I had no idea,” his friend said with amazement.

“Neither did they, apparently,” Brian mused. Then after a pause he added, “Hey what’s up with Rayanne’s mom?”

“How do you mean?” Rickie wanted to know.

“Is she always super friendly?” he asked with hesitation.

“Oh...yeah, pretty much. Amber’s great,” he told him.

“But, like harmless?” Brian asked as an after thought.

“Harmless? Why? What did she do?” Rickie was suddenly paying more attention.

“Oh nothing. Nothing happened. She drove me home that’s all,” he explained with a shrug that his friend couldn’t see.

“Brian? If it was nothing, why do you sound so unsure?” Rickie prompted for his friend to say more.

“She just...she might have made a pass at me,” he said nervously and squeezed his eyes shut, embarrassed he was even saying it out loud.

“What did she do exactly? I mean, maybe she was just being nice,” Rickie said uncertain.

“Well, she put her hand on my leg while she was driving,” Brian told him.

“Okay...that’s a little odd, but I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it,” his friend reassured him.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, but then she kissed me and stuck her tongue in my mouth...” Brian blurted full of shame.

There was complete silence on the other end of the line. Brian wasn’t sure if maybe the connection was lost, or if Rickie was so disgusted that he would never speak to him again.

“Rickie?” he squeaked.

“Um...Brian...that’s really bad,” Rickie finally said quietly.

“I know! I mean...you can’t say anything to Rayanne. You can’t say anything to anyone. I’m only telling you because I had to tell someone. Sorry,” he rambled is hysterics.

“Definitely. I agree. We tell no one,” Rickie told him adamantly.

“You haven’t heard from Angela today, have you?” Brian asked desperate to change the subject.

“Angela? No why?” he asked afraid where this was going to lead them.

“I ran into her mom when I got home and she said she didn’t come home last night,” Brian explained.

“Good for her,” Rickie said with a smile that Brian heard loud and clear by the boy’s inflection.

“Of course you would say that,” he grumbled.

“You know she was with Jordan,” Rickie said suggestively.

“Then you should know I don’t want to discuss it,” Brian shot back.

“Fine...but I’m sure she’s fine,” he reiterated.

“She’d better be,” Brian said and meant it.


	15. Angela gets grounded

15- Angela gets grounded.

Jordan dropped Angela off at home just after 10am. 

“I had the most amazing time,” she told him and then gave him a passionate kiss.

“Me too. You have no idea,” he told her with a shameless smirk.

Angela giggled playfully and then they kissed again before she exited his car. 

“Let me know how bad it is, you know, with the parents,” he winced.

“Well, if you don’t hear from me before Monday at school then you’ll know it’s pretty bad,” she said with a frown. 

They both knew there was a very good chance that she would be grounded for not coming home the night before. Jordan drove away and the red haired girl took a deep breath, bracing herself.

“Angela!” her mother called angrily as she heard the front door close.

“Damn it,” Angela cursed to herself that she hadn’t made it two steps inside before her punishment could commence.

“Where the hell were you?!” Patty demanded as she met her in the front room.

“I was out with my friends,” she started to say, but was cut off by her father.

“You’re friends informed us that you left them to drive around with Jordan,” Graham all but yelled at her.

“Who told you that?” she asked intently.

“Brian Krakow, for one,” Patty informed her. “I also called Sharon and she confirmed it, so don’t even try to tell me that you were at her house...or at Rayanne’s place either.”

“Fine. I was out with my boyfriend. We fell asleep. Not like you would believe me,” she shot back at them. 

“You’re right we don’t. Angela, you need to call when you’re out late, especially if you’re not coming home,” said Patty loudly.

“I don’t even want to think about where you were, or what you were doing with that boy!” shouted Graham.

“We were this close to calling the police,” Patty said with obvious distress.

“Last night, or this morning?” Angela dared to ask.

“Excuse me?” Patty retorted unimpressed.

“Did you notice I was missing last night, or this morning?” Angela asked like it was a perfectly normal question.

“We trusted you and so maybe we didn’t realize you hadn’t come home until this morning. But you can believe me when I say that will never be the case again!” Graham was at a loss as to how his daughter could be so relaxed about defying them.

“You are grounded, young lady!” Patty told her, in case it wasn’t yet clear.

“Here we go,” Angela said with a roll of her eyes.

“I was going to say for a month, but because of that delightful display of disrespect you can now consider it extended until the end of the school year,” Patty explained with a frown.

“Fine, whatever,” she conceded and started to walk up the stairs to her room.

“We are not finished,” Graham called up after her.

“No, I think we are,” Patty said in hushed tones.

“Patty just let me, okay?” he told his wife and then turned back to his daughter who was waiting on the stairs with her arms crossed.

“There will be no more Jordan Catalano. Not while you’re grounded and not after, either. I don’t trust him...and worst of all I don’t trust you when you’re with him,” Graham said with conviction.

“Are you done now?” Angela huffed.

“Yes, go to your room!” added Patty.

“That’s where I was going, God!” their daughter pouted as she stomped up the remaining steps and slammed her bedroom door.

“That’s it? I was expecting her to beg...or at least to cry,” whined Danielle—Angela’s younger sister—with a disappointed air.


	16. Delia and Brian have the talk

16- Delia and Brian have the talk.

It was just before dinner when someone rang the doorbell at Delia’s house. Her father answered and was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed; looking as threatening as possible. Delia looked around him to see it was Brian standing in her front porch, not Tino.

“It’s okay, Daddy,” she said in an attempt to calm her father.

“I’m watching you, boy,” her father declared crossly before backing away. 

Delia came outside and closed the door. She giggled a little as Brian swallowed hard.

“I forgot your father hates me,” he winced nervously.

“Well, you did hurt his little girl’s feelings,” she mused.

“I know...I’m a jerk,” he admitted freely. “You look really nice,” he added after a beat. 

“What are you doing here?” Delia asked him curiously, ignoring his compliment.

“I talked to Rickie earlier and he, um, told me about Tino,” he informed her. Then he made a face like he was in pain.

“Do you want to sit down?” she asked with concern. He accepted the invitation and they both sat on the porch swing.

“It’s my knee. It’s pretty sore...because, as you know, I’m an idiot,” he said with a laugh at his own expense.

“Hmmm a jerk and an idiot,” she stated and nodded in agreement. She couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“So, Rickie seemed to think that you might like the guy. Tino, I mean,” he said thoughtfully.

“What about it?” Delia wanted to know.

“Well...he’s just not a good guy,” Brian replied with concern.

“Rayanne seems to think he’s okay,” she said with a shrug.

“Yeah, well Rayanne was first to encourage Angela to pursue Jordan and we all agree that was a bad idea,” he rationalized.

“Look, I can see that you mean well, but I don’t really think this is any of your business,” Delia retorted tersely.

“Fine. Because I’m just the idiot who hurt your feelings,” he repeated.

“Brian, you spent the better part of last night grumbling over Angela and making goo-goo eyes at her. It’s not like I was even on your radar,” she rambled defensively.

“Because Rickie was there. He, like, gets really mean to me if I try anything with you when he’s around,” he explained feeling sorry for himself.

“Bull,” she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Excuse me?” he blinked in surprise.

“Bullshit, Krakow. You don’t want me the way you want Angela and therefore you have no right to come to my house and tell me who I can and can’t go out with,” said Delia defiantly.

“Oh my God! Even if I did want you that way, you would never listen to me. I don’t know why I bother,” Brian lamented throwing his hands in the air for dramatic effect.

“What are you wearing?” she asked suddenly distracted by his shirt. 

“It’s Rayanne’s, she let me borrow it,” he said as he looked down at the print.

“Figures. It’s just not something you would own,” she said dismissively.

“Okay, well this has been great, but I’ve had enough abuse for today. I hope you and Tino are very happy together and have many beautiful, illiterate babies together,” Brian told her sarcastically as he stood to leave.

“Do you need help down the steps?” she asked after he looked a little weak on his injured leg.

“So you only like to see me in emotional distress...that’s nice to know,” he muttered as she put his arm around her and helped him get down to the driveway.

“Oh, my God,” she said through her laughter.

“What?” he asked unsure. The girl was looking at him intently like there was something on his face.

“You’re actually pretty funny,” Delia admitted as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, most people usual like my self-deprecating humour because, you know, it only hurts me. Which most people enjoy,” he rambled with a smile.

“Funny how that is,” she commented. 

Brian got into his car and only winced a little as he swung his left leg inside. Before he could close the door, Delia was next to him, furrowing her brow.

“So you don’t want me to see Tino?” she asked again as though it suddenly mattered what he thought.

“Maybe if your dad meets him first...I would love to be here for that. Can I?” Brian told her with a chuckle.

“No,” she said adamantly. “See you later.”

“Bye, Fisher. Think about what I said,” he urged before closing the door and pulling away.


	17. Sharon gets a surprise visitor

17- Sharon gets a surprise visitor.

Sharon spent the day in bed. She was convinced she was dying. It may have been awful watching Brian get sick the night before, but she was starting to think he had the right idea. Not throwing up meant the alcohol was taking longer to leave her system.

There was a knock at her door. She hoped it wasn’t her mother checking in on her again. 

“Who is it?” she groaned as she turned over to face the door.

“Hey babe, I heard you weren’t feeling well,” came a familiar voice.

“Kyle?” she said dumbfounded as her ex boyfriend came to sit next to her on the bed.

“I called earlier to try to patch things up, but your mom said you had a stomach bug. The thing is...I heard from a friend of mine that he saw you at Louis’ last night and he said you looked pretty sauced,” he told her with a knowing smile.

“So you know there’s no stomach bug,” she winced, feeling like a fool.

“I brought you my hang-over remedy. It never fails,” said Kyle as he showed her a thermos he’d brought with him.

“Oh yeah? You do realize that we broke up, right?” she asked him dubiously.

“Sharon just because we aren’t a couple, doesn’t mean that I don’t still care about you,” he said with honest sincerity.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” she told him with a small smile.

“Here just try it. I mean, you know you’ll have to go to school tomorrow,” he suggested as he poured some of it into the cup of the thermos.

“Ugh, school,” she moaned. She was not looking forward to facing her friends again. Especially Rayanne. They never did talk about that kiss they shared in her mother’s room.

Sharon sat up and sipped some of the strange cocktail. She was too afraid to ask what was in it. It tasted worse than whatever she drank last night and her face said as much.

“That’s disgusting,” she complained.

“I know, but it will do the trick,” he said sympathetically.

“Thanks, Kyle—you know—for caring,” she told him and then forced down what was left in the cup.

For a moment the girl thought it was all going to come back up, but then the feeling subsided.

“Well, I should go. You’re mom wasn’t too keen on me being in your room. Even though you’re sick,” he explained with a shrug. “Hopefully I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”

“Hopefully,” she agreed.


	18. Mutual good news

18- Mutual good news.

Angela was already dying of boredom in her room. Her mother had the foresight to remove the phone from her bedside table. The girl was itching to reconnect with her friends to see how their nights had gone...and to tell someone about her night with Jordan.

She snuck out into the hallway and listened at the top of the stairs. She could just make out her parents arguing with Danielle about some party she wanted to go to next weekend. They sounded distracted enough for her to take her chance.

Angela picked up the phone in the upstairs hallway and slipped back into her room and closed the door as much as possible. The cord was a little too short to close it all the way.

She decided to call Rickie first.

“Hello?” Mr. Katimski said musically.

“Oh hi, Mr. Katimski. This is Angela; is Rickie available?” she asked as quietly as possible without rousing suspicious that she was in fact being as quiet as possible.

“Sure thing Miss Chase. I’ll go and get him for you,” he told her in the same musical manor.

“Great, thanks,” she said politely and then waited as she bit her thumb nail nervously.

“Hey, Angela?” Rickie said uncertain.

“Oh hey, Rickie. Look I got grounded so if sounds like I’m whispering—I am,”she informed him quickly.

“Yeah, Brian said something about you not coming home last night,” her friend said knowingly.

“You talked to Brian? Why?” she said with mild annoyance.

“Because he’s my friend. Hey can I tell you something...but it’s kind of a secret,” Rickie inquired covertly lowering his voice.

“Sure. I’m not suppose to be talking to anyone anyways,” Angela said with a chuckle.

“Okay...it’s kind of a big deal, but I don’t want you to make a big deal,” he said cryptically.

“Oh wow, what is it?” she really wanted to know.

“Corey was waiting for me at my apartment last night and he stayed over,” Rickie told her.

“What? Like he was just waiting for you?” Angela squealed as quietly as she could manage.

“Yes and we totally made out in my room,” he said as he blushed from ear to ear. His friend couldn’t see him, but she knew that he was.

“Oh my goodness and then he stayed over?” she asked in awe of his good fortune.

“Yeah...it was like, romantic,” he sighed whimsically.

“I am so happy for you,” she gushed.

“Thanks, you’re the first person I’ve told,” he confided.

“You mean you didn’t tell your friend, Brian?” she asked with feigned surprise.

“No, just you,” he admitted.

“Well, do you want to hear about me and Jordan?” 

“Totally,” he said and waited with anticipation.

“He took me out to this house in the middle of nowhere and we, like, really connected. For the first time, it was like I just knew that he was really there for me, you know?” she said with satisfaction.

“And what happened in this little house in the middle of nowhere?” Rickie asked suggestively.

“We did it, Rickie. I am now a girl who’s done the deed. Oh we told each other that we loved each other first...that’s important too,” she rambled.

“Clearly not as important as the other thing,” he noted, but didn’t want to say the actual word in case someone heard him.

“Sex isn’t as terrifying as I thought it would be. I highly recommend it,” she said in earnest.

“Yeah, but maybe you should have considered doing that thing you did when you wouldn’t get grounded right after,” he chided.

“We didn’t mean to stay out all night. We fell asleep,” she pouted.

As she finished her last sentence, someone picked up the receiver to the downstairs phone.

“Hello? Is someone on this line?” came Patty’s very annoyed voice. “Angela!?”

“Gotta go Rickie...Love you!” she said as quickly as possible and hung up.


	19. Delia’s not date

19- Delia’s not date.

It was well passed dinner and the sun was setting. Delia looked past the curtain in the window near her front door for the third time and sighed. She was starting to think that Tino had changed his mind.

Just then there was a flash of someone’s headlights through the window. The girl dared to look again and was pleasantly surprised to see Tino’s hot rod sitting across the street.

“Bye, my ride is here. I promise to be back by eleven,” she called to her parents and then slipped out the door.

She started to run over to the car, but caught herself halfway. She didn’t want to appear too eager.

“Hey beautiful,” he greeted her through his open window. “Jump in and let’s go.”

She did as he asked and buckled her seatbelt. She had decided to wear a dress and her date noticed right away, evidenced by his hand on her bare knee.

“You’ve got great legs, Delia,” Tino said suggestively.

“Thanks, Tino,” she replied nervously, though she appreciated that he used her name again.

“So what did you tell your folks?” he asked intrigued by what story she may have given them.

“I just told them I was studying for a big test with some friends,” she said with a shrug.

“And they were cool with that. Damn, good kids can get away with murder if they want,” Tino chuckled.

“It’s true that they trust me, so I have to be home by 11pm. I hope that’s okay?” she said a little less sure.

“Whatever makes it work so we can do this again...I mean if we want to,” he told her with a wink.

“Seriously? I thought you would be put off,” she confessed.

“Not at all. So, what are you up for? Do you actually want to see a movie, or would you rather go someplace and get to know each other better?” Tino asked with one of his easy smiles.

“I guess maybe we could get to know each other better,” Delia replied shyly.

“Hmmm, good choice,” he said with a squeeze of her knee.

They drove for a short while and ended up parking near the river. It was a known make-out spot that Delia had heard other kids gossip about at school.

“It’s a nice night,” Tino commented as they watched the sky grow darker and the stars start to twinkle.

“This is much more romantic than I thought it would be,” she confided as she looked over at him.

“Oh yeah? I guess you like that sort of thing?” he said without judgement, just trying to get a better understanding of how to approach her.

“Maybe...but you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to. You don’t have to pretend, or whatever,” Delia informed him casually.

“Wow, that sounds like something I should be telling you,” he marvelled.

“Oh, right,” she noted with a flush to her cheeks.

“Hey, Delia...I’m gonna kiss you now,” he told her as he leaned over and did just that.

It wasn’t the same as the night before. It was a lot more intense and a fair bit dirtier. Delia felt it in her toes and then she felt it in other, more private places.

“If you can do all that with a kiss I don’t know that I’ll survive anything more,” she panted when they finally parted.

“Hmmm, you liked that?” he mused with a mischievous grin.

She nodded and leaned over to meet him again. This time his right hand found her left breast and his right hand moved between her legs. Alarm bells went off in her head as she remembered Rayanne instructing her to keep her legs crossed.

“Wait,” she said as she pulled away and put a hand on his right hand, stopping his progress.

“Having second thoughts?” he pouted with disappointment.

“I don’t know,” she said in all honesty.

“I think you’ll like it...I mean, I’m not asking you to do the same if that’s what you’re worried about?” said Tino with another one of his smiles.

Delia had not in fact thought about what he was suggesting, but now was very worried about it.

“Isn’t that what boys want? For girls to do stuff to them?” she asked skeptically and frowned.

“Most boys...” he started to say with an expression that matched her own.

Delia looked out her window and crossed her legs. She wasn’t sure she was really ready for whatever he wanted to do next.

“Did you ever mess around with Rayanne?” she asked without looking back at him.

“What? Where did that come from? No way...she’s like family. We’ve known each other forever. It would be weird,” he rambled with some annoyance.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” she muttered into her lap.

Tino turned the key in the ignition causing Delia to look at him again.

“What are you doing?” she asked unsure.

“I’m taking you home,” he replied curtly. “I don’t think you want to be here.”

“I just thought we were getting to know each other,” she said, obviously confused.

“I think I know enough about you now to know this isn’t going to happen,” he grumbled.

“So it was just about sex,” Delia snarked defensively.

Tino turned off the engine again and turned towards her. 

“Obviously you didn’t pick up on what I was telling you. So let me be more direct,” he told her making direct eye contact.

“I adore beautiful girls. I just wanted to show you my appreciation. This means I want to kiss you and touch you and worship you,” he continued as she stared at him blankly. “But we don’t have to have sex. Not everything is about actual sex...And I can’t believe I have to explain myself to some stuck up sophomore.”

As he finished his lecture he turned back to face forward and start the engine again. Delia was overwhelmed and unused to being belittled by good looking, older boys. She started to cry. She did her best to keep herself together, but failed.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, are you crying now?” he cursed and hit the steering wheel. 

He shut the engine off for the second time and reached behind his seat. He pulled out a box of tissues and tossed it to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice trembling. She blotted her eyes and blew her nose.

“You’re making me feel like a bad guy. I am not a bad guy,” he told her adamantly. Then when she stayed quiet he asked, “Why are you crying?” 

“I don’t know. I guess you made me feel stupid,” she said with a half shrug.

“You’re kidding?” Was his only remark.

“I don’t like being treated like some stupid kid. Why is that hard to understand?” she moped.

“Well sorry, little girl, but you knew what to expect when I asked you to come out with me. It’s not my fault that you changed your mind. I mean...good for you, but own it and stop acting like a victim,” Tino replied heartlessly.

“I think you should take me home now,” Delia told him quietly.

“With pleasure.”

They drove back in silence. Tino was too annoyed to even put the radio on. He didn’t look at Delia once and kept his hands to himself.

As they stopped across from the girl’s house, Delia thought about thanking him, but decided that was just her polite upbringing and really had no reason to thank him for anything.

The curly haired brunette got out and waited while another car went past. 

“Just so you know. I won’t say anything about tonight,” he called from behind her. She turned and walked to his driver’s side window.

“What did you say?” she asked unsure of what he meant.

“I just meant that I wouldn’t sully your reputation, or whatever,” he clarified with a shrug.

“Oh, well nothing happened,” she said tersely.

“As far as I’m concerned, I was never here,” Tino informed her flatly.

“Whatever,” she replied with annoyance.

Then she crossed the street and went in her house. Tino shook his head and cursed himself for thinking that this girl was worth his time.


	20. Jordan gets blamed

20- Jordan gets blamed.

Jordan was cleaning up in his garage when Tino’s hot rod pulled up in the driveway. The guy looked pissed off and Jordan tossed his friend a beer from the cooler next to his car.

“What’s your problem? Some girl say no to you, or something?” Jordan asked jokingly and received a glare for his efforts.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I probably wasn’t thinking. This is all your fault, you know,” Tino muttered as he popped off the top of his bottle and took a swig of his beer.

“Why? What did I do?” he wanted to know.

“You started going with that straight laced, good girl,” Tino shot back in an accusing tone.

“Angela? So what?” Jordan added, still unsure of what he meant.

“So...then I met her beautiful little friend and made an absolute fool of myself. So, this is your fault,” he elaborated.

“What are you talking about? What friend?” Jordan was not taking the blame if he didn’t have to.

“That Delia girl...the one with the dimples and the curves...fuck, I feel like an asshole,” Tino grumbled and kicked one of the tires.

“Hey man, don’t take it out on my car. Besides, I keep telling you what an asshole you are,” he said with a chuckle.

“I should have tried harder last night; would have saved me the trouble,” Tino added and then drank more.

“Hey man, girls like that take a long time to loosen up,” Jordan commented.

“Yeah, but sometimes you get lucky and you get one that goes for it,” he sighed with frustration.

“And sometimes what looks like a good idea at the time turns into a clingy, needy girl who won’t leave you alone,” offered Jordan knowingly.

“You know what? You could be right. I mean, I don’t need some silly girl crushing on me; convinced that she’s in love with me, or some bullshit,” Tino rationalized.

“Although...sometimes if you find the right girl, a girl who gets you...it’s actually pretty awesome,” Jordan reflected. He lost himself for a moment in his memories of the night before with Angela and how amazing it was to wake up to her that morning.

“Delia is not that girl. She would expect things from a guy. Like an education and a steady income. She probably wants the white picket fence and all that garbage,” his friend lamented as he contemplated his beer bottle.

“Yeah, being a responsible person with someone actually expecting something from you...you don’t need that,” Jordan told him sardonically.

“Fuck you, Catalano. And fuck Delia!” Tino shot back at him. “You can take all your sentimental bullshit and choke on it!”

He finished downing the contents of the bottle and tossed it in the garbage bin by the door on his way out.


	21. Monday at school

21- Monday at School.

Rayanne had struggled with whether or not to confront Sharon about their kiss on Saturday night. She was finally working up the courage when she spotted the girl kissing her boyfriend. So much for their break up.

She was berating herself that she should have known better and turned abruptly, knocking into Brian.

“Watch it, weirdo,” Rayanne yelled defensively and then realized it was Brian. “Sorry Krakow, thought you were a different weirdo.”

“Oh, sure. Does this mean you’re treating me like a person today?” he asked her skeptically.

“Maybe. Just don’t do anything to piss me off,” she told him. “Hey what went on with you and Amber?” She asked after a moment.

“W-what? W-what do you mean?” he stuttered, suddenly full of shame and fear.

“She seemed really taken with you. She kept asking why I didn’t have you over more, like you should be my best friend, or something,” she elaborated as she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

“I have no idea...maybe I’m just the guy version of Angela to her, or something,” he told her randomly hoping it would appease her curiosity.

“You should be so lucky,” she scoffed.

“So, I have your shirt,” he said, trying to distract her and went to get it out of his bag.

“Just keep it for now,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She didn’t need half of the school to see him handing her an article of clothing.

“Right. So do you know anything about Delia and Tino?” Brian asked nervously as they walked to his locker.

“No. Should I know something?” she asked him, unsure.

“Never mind,” he shrugged.

Angela arrived down the hall and was swept away by Jordan into one of his classic make-out sessions. Both Rayanne and Brian made a snort of derision and turned away.

“I just can’t with that today,” Rayanne pouted.

“I see Sharon got back together with Kyle...is that bothering you?” Brian asked with sincerity.

“Maybe. More because she gets so distracted...less because of what happened,” she explained.

“But, like, a little because of what happened,” Brian added sadly. He knew what it was like to lose out on a good thing.

“Shut up. We are not talking about it, okay,” she said more than asked.

“Understood,” he agreed, putting his hands up defensively.

“Ugh and then there’s those two,” Rayanne whined as she looked over at Rickie and Corey laughing about something private.

“Really? Rickie didn’t say anything about it,” Brian asked obviously unsure.

“You can just tell. It’s like it’s mating season at Liberty and you an me are the rejects,” she told him with a pat on the arm.

Just then Brian spotted Delia. She was heading towards them, which made Rayanne roll her eyes.

“Hey, you two,” the girl greeted them.

“Hey,” Brian said with a smile.

“So Fisher, did you keep your legs closed?” Rayanne asked suggestively.

“Rayanne!” Brian shot at the girl for being so crude.

“Yes I did, not that it’s any of your business,” Delia informed her quietly.

“You did?” Brian blurted without thinking.

“Yes. I’ve realized I’m not that kind of girl,” she said with a sad smile.

“I could have told you that,” Rayanne said with another roll of her eyes.

“So, you already saw Tino?” the boy wanted to know.

“Yeah, but I think he’s too fast for me,” she replied with a tilt of her head.

“I think I did tell you that,” Rayanne snarked with a laugh.

“Well, I’m just glad you did what was best for you,” Brian added, ignoring Rayanne’s remark.

“Me too. Hey Brian, you wanna walk with me to Social Studies?” Delia asked with a winning smile, showing off her dimples.

“Yeah, sure,” said Brian as he quickly closed his locker. 

The two walked off down the hall leaving Rayanne standing alone.

“And then there was one,” she quipped to herself.

“Hey Graff, why the sad face?” asked Tino as he came up beside her.

“Because one really is the loneliest number,” she sighed. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of the girl’s braided head.

“Come on outside. I’ve got just the thing to cheer you up,” he told her playfully.

“I can always count on you, Tino. You’ve always got my back,” she said with a smile.

“Huh, how ‘bout that,” he mused at the irony.

With that the two old friends took off out the main doors, not caring that the school day had just gone into session.

......  
FIN


End file.
